Rachel Zeppinick Woodland Hills Real Estate

Woodland Hills Real Estate -Topanga Canyon Community:

Driving south of Ventura blvd on Topanga Canyon Blvd past Mulholland Dr. on your way to Malibu Beach there is the community of Topanga Canyon. Hippies, Naturalists, Artists, and Bohemians of all sorts are drown to this rustic canyon . Nestled picturesquely between San Fernando Valley and Santa Monica, Topanga offers countless delights:

Shops:

The Hidden Treasures: Want to find those keepsakes pieces with real history behind them? Antiques, quilts and vintage clothing they are all here for your browsing and shopping pleasure.

Topanga Homegrown: Gifts, clothing,candles, an eclectic mixture of all kind of stuff.

There are many more stores and restaurants to see.

Arts:

Brimming with artists, Topanga is also the home of a pair of theater companies specializing in the works of William Shakespeare.

The William Geer Teatricum Botanicum: Operating during the summer month the 35 - year old repertory founded by actor Will Geer takes place in rustic outdoor amphitheater that is also home to family concerts.

Los Angeles Shakespeare Company: New to the canyon the company plans to stage all of Shakespeare's plays in the span of five years. Currently playing "The Merry Wives of Windsor".

Recreation:

Hikers, Bikers, Walkers and horse back riders co-exist side by side along the parks and trail. Even braving the busy traffic of Topanga Canyon on route to and from the beach.

Topanga State Park: With 36 mils of trails grassland and pristine Pacific Ocean views. the world largest wildlife within the boundaries of a major city will keep outdoorsmen of all abilities on the move.

All of this is within 20 minutes drive from Woodland Hills Ca, There are many beautiful properties on the market, its a great time to buy real estate, home prices are down and so are interest rates.

Call Me today at 818.288.7255

It's important to understand that in a short sale, it's the lender that accepts the offers, counters, or declines the offers from the buyer, not the homeowner, although legally the owner still owns the property. Most of the time the lenders agree in principle that there is going to be a short sale, but they would not elude to the amount they would agree to unless there is an offer on the table. I have seen this step in the process take up to 90,days or more, especially if there are more then 2 lenders involves and a mortgage insurance company, all this takes time.

This makes the process even more difficult given buyer's attitudes and choices in the market today. As these sales become more prevalent, lenders are using companies that are assetts management companies that are doing just short sales and using Real Estate Agent for appraisals to quickly handle these steps so as not to lose deals.

You may be saying that this sounds like a pretty good deal for the struggling homeowner, but there are some issues to be aware of. First, should the lender "forgive" the shortfall amount for the homeowner, a taxable event is likely to occur. Uncle Sam considers the amount forgiven by the lender to be taxable income. Also, not all lenders will forgive the shortfall amount, they may require it to be paid back over time. In the case of multiple mortgages on a property, the secondary lenders may attempt to garnish the homeowners wages as recourse. And there is also an impact to the credit worthiness of the homeowner going forward. A short sale will likely result in a 50 point hit on the home owners credit score and will take at least a year to "work-out". That's a lot more appealing to the minimum 100 point impact on your credit score and 11 years to "work-out" most foreclosures creates.

The bottom line is if you are having problems making your mortgage payments, contact a real estate agent don't call your friend or your relative call an experienced professional and lender sooner than later time is of essence. Ask to speak with a supervisor in your lenders Loss Mitigation Department to get the process going. Waiting to long will result in more harm than good and fewer options for you the homeowner.

In woodland Hills Ca. like in other parts of the country there are short sales, this is the first blog in a series of blogs which will explain what you can expect when you make an offer on a property that is selling in a short sale.

The short sale process can be very confusing because it is not as common as a regular real estate transaction. Typically the short sale process takes longer because you have to deal directly with the bank and gain their approval to sell the home. When a client makes an offer to purchase a real estate short sale they do not have the benefit of getting a quick response like they would from a regular seller.

The short sale process begins with the client having to show that they are eligible for a short sale. All lenders typically require 2 years of tax returns, 2 years of W2's, most recent month of bank statements for all accounts and a hard ship letter. The process of getting approved for a short sale is the exact opposite of what a borrower goes through when they are trying to obtain financing. When a borrower obtains financing they have to show that they can afford to make the mortgage payments. When a seller is trying to get the bank to approve them for a short sale, they have to show the bank that they have made every attempt possible to try and make the payments. If a lender sees that they have other liquid assets they will not be very likely to help a seller out and approve them for a short sale.

I have just finished reading an article in the Daily News regarding Home Sale in the San Fernando Valley, home sales tumbled to their lowest level since 1985, sales of single-family homes in the San Fernando Valley have dropped by 35 percent compared to the previous year, as fewer buyers qualified for loans. The median value of a single-family home rose to $611,833,000. Many sellers are staying put and refuse to slash home prices. In the month of December home prices leveled out at $557,000.

The article goes on to mention that condominium sales have dropped 37.5 percent. At the same time the average cost of a condominium has also dropped, but only by 2.8 percent. This is a bit more logical, supply values dropping according to reduced demand. However, with nearly a 38 percent reduction in sales since May 2006, I believe prices will still have to come down some before sales will pick up again.

The last thing it mentions is more positive. The decline in home sales was less severe in the San Fernando Valleythan the rest of Los Angeles County and home prices have not gone down as much either.

Bottom line. If you are realistically trying to sell your home in a buyer's market, regardless of geography, the most important things are going to be how well you prepare and price your home. If your house is in perfect state, it is more likely to stand out in a crowd and attract more offers. This should help you get a bit more than market value, however, for a quick turnaround there is no substitute for accurate valuation. Price your house realistically and watch it sell, in any market.

The market in its current state provides us with some out of the box iinvesting ideas - Leas Option

The world of Woodland Hills Ca real estate investing is filled with mechanisms investors use to get into properties and turn a profit. As a new real estate investor, that abundance of information can often seem insurmountable. Financing options alone on a real estate investment could take days to fully understand.

Nestled somewhere in that great array of information is the lease option, a mechanism used by some investors to get into a property quickly and with no down payment to speak of. It is a flexible solution to some investing issues and can provide a win-win situation for buyer and seller.

The basic form of a lease option dictates that a buyer and seller agree on a payment plan for a particular piece of real estate that includes the option to buy the property at some point in the future with a particular selling point. Should the buyer ultimately decide against purchasing the property, no harm is done and the agreement is simply terminated. However, if the buyer does decide to purchase the real estate, the seller is obligated to sell for the price and terms agreed to at the onset of the contract.

While this type of deal is not for every investor or every property, there are certainly some benefits. These agreements are often rapidly worked out, giving the buyer control of the Woodland Hills Ca real estate investment property and the seller a monthly payment in short order. The buyer remains flexible in the investment, having the ability to decide later not to purchase the property and the seller benefits from that flexibility by keeping the monthly payments and perhaps keeping the whole property in the end.

The buyer benefits by escaping any sort of down payment to get into an investment property, only having to come up with the monthly payment. If the property is managed correctly, that monthly payment will come directly from the revenue seen by the property.

One of the most common ways this method is used is for investment properties that could use some renovation to ultimately command a better sale price. A buyer will enter into a lease option agreement, work on the home to improve its value and then pursue a separate buyer that will pay more than the cost of the lease option. With such an arrangement, a Woodland Hills Ca real estate investor can turn a profit on a home he or she was never even the legal owner of.

Of course, there are some pieces of information to consider when deciding whether a lease option is right for your investing needs. The most important piece of advice when dealing with a lease option is to take special care when drafting the contract as it will largely determine whether your investment succeeds or fails.

Every lease option agreement will include a monthly payment amount, an option fee which will be added to the down payment fee and keep the option to buy.